Last year’s operating losses totaled over $2 billion for hospitals across the state, according to the Washington State Hospital Association. This year, things are looking slightly better. Losses in the first six months of 2023 slowed, compared to the previous year, according to survey results released by the Association this week. But concerns remain.
A last ditch effort to save St. Mark’s Medical Center failed this week, forcing the only hospital in Fayette County to close amid ongoing financial struggles. The 18-year-old hospital announced last week that it would close on Thursday, eliminating more than 50 full and part-time jobs in La Grange, a rural town of about 4,400 people.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously last year that HHS unlawfully cut the payments to hospitals without following proper procedure, including conducting a survey of the hospitals’ acquisition cost of the drugs from pharmaceutical drugmakers. And now, thousands of U.S. hospitals are set to recoup more than $9 billion under a proposed remedy that the federal agency rolled out this summer.
Mayo will close its clinic on Ridgeview’s Le Sueur campus on Dec. 12, according to a joint announcement Friday. Ridgeview had been leasing clinic space to Mayo Clinic Health System since 2018. A non-renewable lease ended on Aug. 31, followed by the two agreeing on a Dec. 12 departure date.
UNC Health is in the middle of a contract negotiation with UnitedHealthcare, and the hospital network said in a letter it is sending to patients that the two parties are far apart over reimbursement policies and rate increases. If the contract expires, hundreds of thousands of patients across the state would be considered out of network at UNC Health, which could lead to many patients having to find a new doctor.